Automatic safety alarm apparatus for railway-crossings.



No. 839,664. PATENTED DEC. 25, 1906.

R. STA NLEY.

AUTOMATIC SAFETY ALARM APPARATUS FOR RAILWAY CROSSINGS.

APPLIOATION FILED MAY 16, 1906.

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UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

ROBERT STANLEY, OF MELBOURNE, VICTORIA, AUSTRALIA.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Dec. 25, 1906.

Application filed May 16, 1906. Serial No. 317.203.

To all whom it may concern;

Be it known that I, ROBERT STANLEY, a subject of the King of Great Britain, residing at 82 Villiam street, Melbourne, in the State of Victoria, Australia, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Automatic Safety Alarm Apparatus for Railway-Crossings; and I do declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description of the invention, such as will enable others skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use the same.

This invention has been devised to provide safety appliances or apparatus which will cause an alarm to be raised at the crossing of roads overrailway-lines, so as to warn the public of the proximity of a coming train, and thus prevent accidents.

Means embodying my invention and for carrying the same into effect are illustrated in the accompanying drawings, in Which Figure 1 is a side elevation, partly in section, showing the operating mechanism. Fig. 2 is a side elevation of the alarm mechanism. Fig. 3 shows an alternative operating device. Fig. 4 is a plan view of Fig. 1; while Fig. 5 is a side elevation of the alarm mechanism when an indicator-arm is employed, drawn to a smaller scale.

I employ a longitudinal metal plate A, having a curved top edge A. This plate lies parallel with and closely against one of the rails B of the permanent way. In some cases the rail B may be slightly cut away to allow of a closer intimacy between it and the said plate A. This plate A is free to slide up and down in guides C, placed, preferably, at each end thereof, said guides having limitation-stops D at each end to receive the thrust of lugs E on the bottom of the plate A to prevent the plate from rising above the predet ermined height. The height of the plate A should be so that its top edge A is, say, three-quarters of an inch above the level of the top rail and so curved downward at each end that as each wheel of the train passes along that side of the railway such wheel will depress the plate A in a downward direction while it is rolling over it.

In the center of the plate A and near its bottom I arrange a bearing or pivot-pin H, under which the short arm I of a lever G engages. The lever G works on a fulcrum pin or bearing J and has two arms K and L, the former, K, holding an adjustable blockweight K thereon and the other, L, pointing in a downward direction and terminating in an eyelet L, to which is attached a small metal rod M, forming part of a chain, or a small steel-wire rope. Said chain or rope M leads some distance away to the proximity of the railway-crossing. Near such crossing the said chain or rope M is attached to a bellcrank N, mounted upon a vertical post 0, set stanchly in the ground outside the line of ballast, the other end of the crank-lever N being attached to a bellull P and racked rod P and pinion R or li e medium for communicating a pulling motion to the hammer of a bell R. An indicator-arm S, provided with an index-finger T at its termination, may also be set in engagement with the pull-lever P, and it will be seen that the continuation of the rack-gear P will operate the pinion U, which forms part of arm S, and cause the latter to rock about and arouse public attention. (See Fig. 5.)

Fig. 3 shows a modification in which the lever G is formed integrally with the plate A and the weight is also formed integrally with the lever K. I may provide a spring F for supplementing the weight K, as shown in Fig. 1. In practice as each train-wheelpasses over the curved top A of the said plate A (and depresses it against the upward pressure of the short lever-arm I) a radial pull is given by the bifurcated lever L. This latter in its turn operates, through the medium of the said chain or rope M, the lever or bell-crank N on the alarm-post, so that a train having fifty wheels on its side will sound as many alarms, and thus warn the driver of a vehicle or pedestrian at or approaching the crossing on the railway-line that a train is closely approachin such crossing.

It is obvious that the curved operatingplate A and its attachments may be placed a considerable distance away from the cross ing, or even around corners or curves, byino difying or amplifying the length of chain or rope M and in some cases providing free jockeypulleys to carry such chain or rope M in the proper direction to the roadway-crossing.

It is obvious that a complete apparatus such as I have described may, where the line of railway isa double one, be placed on each side of the railway-crossing and amplified according to the number of lines of permanent way.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is

1. An automatic safety alarm apparatus for railroads comprising guides located adj acent one of the rails, a plate vertically mov able in said guides, a three-arm lever having one arm connected to the plate, means engaging with one of the other arms for kee in the plate in raised position and signal means operated by the third arm.

2. In automatic safety alarm apparatus for railway crossings: in combi'nationa presser-plate, limitation-guides to keep said plate in position, a bearing-pin to engage with a centered lever, an adjustable weighted extension on said lever, means for commu'ni eating the lever motion to the road-crossing, a weighted actuating rod, said rod being racked to fit and actuate bell-and-arm alarm apparatus, substantially as and for the pur poses set forth.

In testimony whereof I have signed my name to this 'spe'c'fication in the presence of two subscribing witnesses.

, ROBERT STANLEY.

Witnesses A. HARKER, OBIDER SMITH. 

